ATLANTA — NOTE: 11Alive has published a new timeline about the Trump investigation. You can read it here.
More than two years later, the words that former President Donald Trump uttered in that conversation could land him in an Atlanta courtroom.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge has ordered the partial release of a special purpose grand jury's report on the investigation into 2020 election interference by Trump and his allies in Georgia.
District Attorney Fani Willis could then take the case to a different grand jury with the power to indict the former commander-in-chief and his associates.
Here are some of the key events that led to the 2020 election investigation and how the key players ended up here.
Nov. 4, 2020: Trump says he ‘did win this election.’ Lawsuits start
While it was the Jan. 2, 2021 call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that ultimately led to the Fulton County probe, it wasn’t the first time Trump made false claims about the election.
Before all of the votes were counted, Trump was attempting to claim victory in the early morning hours after Election Day itself, on Nov. 4, 2020.
“This is a fraud on the American public,” he said. “This is an embarrassment to our country. We were getting ready to win this election. Frankly, we did win this election.”
On the same date, the Trump campaign and the Georgia Republican Party filed a lawsuit over alleged ballot issues in Georgia. It was the first of several Georgia lawsuits filed by Trump. None of them were successful.
Nov. 9-11, 2020: Senators call for Raffensperger to resign; Trump wants recount
Biden had taken the lead in Georgia, and Raffensperger refuted the former president’s false fraud claims. For that, Georgia’s then U.S. Senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — called for Raffensperger to resign as Georgia’s Secretary of State on Nov. 9.
They accused Raffensperger of failing to deliver “honest and transparent elections,” but cited no evidence to prove it. Raffensperger did not resign.
On Nov. 10, Trump and the Georgia GOP sent Raffensperger a letter demanding a quick recount. On Nov. 11, Raffensperger agreed. It would be the first of three recounts that confirmed Joe Biden won Georgia.
CNN reported in October 2022 that Loeffler was interviewed by the Fulton County special purpose grand jury investigating the post-election interference efforts by Trump and his allies.
Nov. 13, 2020: U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham calls Raffensperger
On Nov. 13, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Raffensperger. The parties dispute what occurred on the call.
Raffensperger previously said Graham asked about rejected absentee ballots based on signature matching and suggested that the South Carolina Republican hinted that Georgia election officials should throw out some ballots. Graham has denied this.
In an interview with the Jan. 6 Committee, Raffensperger was less direct in accusing Graham.
Graham mentioned a process credit card companies use to verify signatures, suggesting that the same process be used on 150,000 absentee ballots from Fulton County, according to Raffensperger's testimony.
Raffensperger told the committee that the suggestion made him "uncomfortable."
The call resulted in Graham testifying before the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury after unsuccessfully fighting a subpoena.
Dec. 3, 2020: False claims about 'suitcases of ballots' at State Farm Arena
Trump’s legal team, led by Rudy Giuliani, made several false claims about fraud that cost Trump the election during a seven-hour meeting of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Dec. 3, 2020. The most notable was that Fulton County election workers pulled out “suitcases of ballots” to count in secret.
According to testimony provided to the Jan. 6 Committee by Raffensperger, election workers thought they were done counting for the night. Poll watchers left with the workers. County election director Rick Barron called the workers back to continue counting.
Workers were alone for about 40 minutes before a secretary of state investigator returned. All of it was on tape. The GBI and FBI investigated. No fraud was found.
Giuliani’s false claims eventually led to Trump supporters directing death threats towards two Fulton County election workers – Ruby Freeman and daughter Shaye Moss.
For this and other involvement in Georgia, Giuliani testified before the special purpose grand jury.
Dec. 5-6, 2020: Trump, GOP lawmakers want special session
Trump called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp with a request. The president wanted Georgia’s top executive to call a special session of the state legislature, the Georgia General Assembly, to overturn the state’s election results.
Kemp and then-Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan had previously issued a statement pouring cold water on the special session idea because electing “a separate slate of presidential electors is not an option that is allowed under state or federal law.”
Kemp rebuffed the president’s request.
Four Republican state Senators – Brandon Beach, Greg Dolezal, Burt Jones and William Ligon – circulated a petition that also called for a special session. The special session never was called.
Jones, who now serves as Georgia’s lieutenant governor, was also part of Trump’s phony elector scheme. The elector scheme is explaining further down in this story.
Dec. 7, 2020: Biden’s victory is certified
After three rounds of counting, Biden’s victory over Trump was certified. The Democrat won Georgia by 11,779 votes. It was the first time a Democrat carried the state since 1992.
Dec. 14, 2020- Trump's phony electors meet at Georgia capitol
On Dec. 14, 2020, 16 Georgians met in the state capitol and signed phony certificates claiming Trump won the 2020 election.
The 16 are:
Joseph Brannan
James "Ken" Carroll
Vikki Townsend Consiglio
Carolyn Hall Fisher
Burt Jones
Gloria Kay Godwin
David G. Hanna
Mark W. Hennessy
Mark Amick
John Downey
Cathleen Alston Latham
Daryl Moody
Brad Carver
David Shafer
Shawn Still
C.B. Yadav
The electors were directed to use "complete secrecy" by Robert Sinners, Trump’s election day operations lead in Georgia for 2020. Sinners now serves as a spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.
All 16 electors are at risk of prosecution in the Fulton probe, CNN reported.
The Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia will determine if Lt. Gov. Burt Jones should be investigated by a special prosecutor. Willis was disqualified from prosecuting Jones after she took part in a fundraiser for Democratic Lt. Gov. nominee Charlie Bailey.
Dec. 22-23, 2020: Meadows’ visit and Trump’s call to SOS investigator
In late December, Trump and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows spoke with Secretary of State investigator Frances Watson about Georgia's election results.
At the time, Watson was overseeing an audit of Cobb County absentee ballots. On Dec. 22, Meadows arrived in Cobb County with Secret Service agents. Meadows allegedly asked questions and attempted to enter the room where workers were reviewing absentee ballot signatures. Meadows was not allowed inside.
On a Dec. 23 call, Trump urged Watson to find “dishonesty.” Trump also claimed he won the state, and he made specific allegations about alleged fraud in Fulton County.
The Cobb audit concluded on Dec. 29. Of the 15,000 ballots reviewed, it found issues with only two envelopes.
Meadows testified before the special purpose grand jury.
Jan. 2, 2021: The Trump-Raffensperger call
This is the call that launched Willis’ investigation. On the call, Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to give overturn Biden's victory.
Trump also suggested that Raffensperger could face criminal prosecution.
“You know what they did, and you're not reporting it,” Trump said. “That's a criminal offense, and you can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you.”
The call took place four days before Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol and Biden’s Electoral College victory was confirmed by Congress.
February 2021: Willis announces investigation
Willis announced in February 2021 that her office was investigating Trump for possible violations of state law. The probe expanded from the Raffensperger call to various efforts by the former president and his allies to change the outcome of the race.
January 2022: Willis wants and gets special grand jury for election probe
As the investigation progressed, Willis requested a special purpose grand jury be formed. On Jan. 24, a majority of Fulton County Superior Court judges agreed with Willis’ request.
The jury started its work in May and interviewed 75 witnesses during its eight month investigation.
Jan. 9, 2023: Grand jury ends its investigation
The Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury completed its work on Jan. 9. Its final report was given to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney. Willis has also seen the report.
Jan. 24, 2023: Judge weighs whether jury report should be public
McBurney heard arguments from the Fulton DA’s office and lawyers representing media outlets over whether the special purpose grand jury’s report should be made public on Jan. 24.
Willis and her office said that releasing the report before her office decides whether or not it will seek criminal charges is "dangerous."
Tom Clyde, attorney for the media outlets, argued that Georgia law is clear: The report should be published without delay and in its entirety.
The report could recommend various people be prosecuted for their role in attempting to undermine Georgia’s 2020 election.
Feb. 13, 2023: Judge orders partial release of special purpose grand jury report
Judge Robert McBurney issued an eight-page order for the partial publication of the report.
In his order, McBurney said the introduction, conclusion and one additional section of the report (Section VIII) would be made public on Thursday, Feb. 16.
Section VIII of the report lays out how the jury "discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony," according to McBurney's order. It does not however individually name anyone the grand jury specifically suspected of lying.